Snakebite
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: Harriet Potter went missing. And it isn't until the start of what should have been her fifth year that she returns, with a teen claiming to be Salazar reborn. FemHarry
1. Prologue

**Snakebite**

**Prologue**

_The Boy That Spoke Snake_

_x_

_14__th__ June 1988_

Harriet Lily Potter did not know what to think about her lot in life. At seven years old, she knew several vital facts, and then, she knew the many, many opinions of her aunt and uncle.

She knew they were 'good and honest people' that had taken her 'ungrateful form' into there loving household.

She also knew that this statement was contradicted by what she saw everyday of her life, day in and day out. If the sales people rung up the house and Aunt Petunia answered the phone, Uncle Vernon would mouth that he wasn't in and to hang up. If he was hosting a company dinner, he'd have Harriet cook the food, and then exclaim what a good job his wife had done on the dinner once she was safely locked up in her cupboard. He would brag about how smart and healthy his young son was, even if the boy was tipping the scales and would rather spend the day drooling before the television set rather than so much as lift a book, let along actually read it.

It was all of these things that had made Harriet realize that she did not live with 'good and honest people', and that her aunt and uncle were in fact, very bad liars. They pretended to be perfect, they put heavy empathise on being a completely normal family.

But Dudley's weight was anything but normal.

Uncle Vernon's temper was anything but normal.

Aunt Petunia's unhealthy obsession with knowing everything that happened on their street was anything but normal.

And that always brought questions to Harriet's mind, especially when her Aunt had a glass of wine and would whine on about her sister, Harriet's mother. It was when she thought Harriet was asleep, all curled up in her cupboard, that she'd lament on about her 'dear perfect sister Lily'. How smart the girl had been, how strange yet utterly perfect in their parents eyes. How she could do no wrong.

It was during these times that Harriet realized what an awful liar her aunt really was. Because if her mother had been so perfect, so smart, then she couldn't have been a drug addict, a drunk, a whore. Every time she heard the story of how her parents had died in a car crash, a new descriptive word about her mother would make it into the story.

So Harriet didn't believe them. She guessed her parents might have died in a car crash, it was possible. Because it wasn't just the bad people that got hit by cars, good people could suffer the same fate as well.

This was about the time when Harriet Potter learnt to take everything her aunt said with a pinch of salt.

.

Another grand example of how untruthful her aunt was, how hypocritical, was when she came to pick Dudley up from school in the car, but had Harriet walk the twenty minutes home.

She honestly didn't mind this, Harriet always took her time on the walk home, always enjoyed the time free of her realities where she could just think to herself for a bit. And today especially Harriet had no need to rush home, seeing as her teachers wig had turned bright blue during class today.

Whenever something strange happened, like food disappearing from the fridge and appearing in her cupboard when she was hungry, or that time when her hair had grown back after Aunt Petunia had cut it so short it wasn't longer than her fingernails, Harriet always, always, got the blame. And Uncle Vernon would hit her, exclaiming how worthless she was, even though Harriet did a lot of cleaning, a lot of cooking and did all of the gardening.

So she took the long way home, passing the edge of the park as she went. It wasn't unusual for there to be a lot of kids at the park after school, but what was strange was the way they were all avoiding the big slide.

It was a huge tower, as tall as a house, that the council people had recently put in. It had several slides at each level, but the utmost top one didn't appear to be in use, or at least, no one was coming out of it.

Curious -it's not like she could get in any more trouble for being late home- Harriet stopped to watch, wondering what was wrong. Several children didn't even appear to remember there was a really tall slide, because once they got to the second highest slide, they didn't even look at the stairs that continued upwards, like they couldn't see them.

But Harriet could, so she adjusted the handle of her tatty rucksack and made her way over.

.

She'd never been up the tower slide before, Dudley had made sure when they were brought to the park that he and his friends would block the entrances, even going so far as to hit her the only time she'd tried getting past them. But they weren't here now, so Harry made it up the steps with relative ease, even up the ones that everyone else seemed to be ignoring.

Making her way to the top, Harriet poked her head up at the height of the floor, determined to have a look around before she brought the rest of her body up. Her eyes instantly locked on a boy, older than her, old enough that he looked like he might be out of primary school, sat at the slide entrance. He was strange looking, his clothes dark and looked almost as if they were made out of the same material as Aunt Petunia's couch. What was it called again? Leather! That was it. Clothing could be made out of leather?

The boy's eyes were shut and his breathing slow, he was clearly napping. Why was the dark haired boy sleeping up here? Didn't he know that older children didn't nap, that it was for babies? That's what Aunt Petunia said anyway, so maybe she was lying about that too. But why she'd rather have Dudley awake than sleeping was a complete mystery to Harriet.

She didn't get much time to think on the boy though, because there was a snake in front of her soon enough. It was a rather big snake, the kind that Dudley watched on the television as it fought with other wild animals. He'd even been to the zoo and said all the big snakes were being glass walls, so why was there one with a boy here?

"_Master is sleeping, you will not disturb Master! Flee two-leg and maybe Nefertiti will let you live._"

Harriet didn't understand, was the boy called Nefertiti or was that the name of the snake? She was pretty sure the name was Egyptian, they were studying them and the Pharaohs at school, maybe that's where she'd heard the name before? Regardless, she knew with absolute certainty that the snake had just threatened her life, she didn't even pause to think about the fact the snake had talked, instead backing up until her back was pressed against one of the edges of the tower walls.

"_I'm sorry, I'll go now!_" Harriet had never seen a snake before, but if she had, she'd have guessed this one looked almost startled as she proclaimed her urge to flee. No wonder none of the other kids were coming up here!

"_Wait speaker! Master will want to speak to you, Master is a speaker too! Nefertiti did not know you were speaker, forgive Nefertiti_."

Harriet was pretty sure that the snake was called Nefertiti now, and that the boy she was protecting was her Master. Did that mean that the snake belonged to the boy? He was smarter than Dudley, most kids would fight each other to get to the top slide, but even Dudley would think twice about taking on a snake this big.

Harriet stayed put, halfway up the stairs and still peeking over the edge of the floor to see the snake, Nefertiti, slither over to the form of the boy. Her large, coiled body wiggled up that of the boy, her tongue flickering out and brushing against the boy's cheek.

"_Master, wake up._"

.

And just like that the boy was awake. His eyes were dark, so dark that Harriet couldn't tell what colour they were from where she was stood. He had one hand wrapped around a staff that was far taller than he was, and he held it awkwardly thanks to the low ceiling of the tower compartment. His dark eyes locked on her form and Harriet gulped, which sounded far too loud to her own ears.

This boy was older than Dudley but not by much, nowhere near as old as Vernon, and if she had learnt anything from the two of them, it was that they tended to get more violent, more angry, at her the older they became. She just hoped this boy wasn't like them.

"Who are you? How'd did you get past my wards?" The boy's eyes were narrowed as he stood, only just short enough that his head didn't hit the ceiling. He was a lot taller than Harriet and that made her even more nervous.

"H-Harriet Lily Potter," she stammered out, dearly wishing that she could shrink even further into the wood she currently had her back pressed up against.

And then, the boy's whole demeanour changed. He settled back down on his haunches, placing his staff against the floor but never letting his eyes leave hers.

"Well come up here then, let me have a look at you, little witch."

Harriet knew two things about what the boy had said. Witch was an insult, of that she was pretty sure. Dudley called their teacher it last year and the old woman hadn't been happy about that. But she also knew a command when she recognised one. Slowly, she climbed the last few stairs before sitting down opposite the boy, nervously fidgeting and completely unable to find a comfortable sitting position.

The older boy was still watching her curiously, dark eyes following her every movement, but from here she could see the colour. They were a really dark grey, only a few shades off being as dark as his pupils. Harriet had never seen eyes like them.

"My name's Salazar," the boy finally spoke after a minute of looking at her, one hand scratching at the head of the large snake he was with, "and you are the famous Harriet Potter. I admit, I was expecting something...More." Harriet frowned. That was a lot of words, and as she sorted through them in her mind, she blushed a bit. The only reason she could be famous was if she was talked about, and she was pretty sure her aunt and uncle wouldn't say anything good.

"I-I'm not a bad girl. My aunt and uncle are liars." Maybe this dangerous boy would like to be her friend though? He looked like he could stand up to Dudley, especially if he had Nefertiti by his side.

The large female serpent was currently slithering towards her, nudging her hand onto her head when she came to rest by Harriet's side.

"_Master, she does not smell of the other wizard-kind, she smells of the two-legs that know no magic._"

Harriet gasped a little, looking down at the snake with big green eyes.

"_Magic?_" But uncle Vernon said magic didn't exist, that it wasn't real and she was stupid for believing it. He didn't like hearing that word, Harriet knew that. But this snake was talking! What else could it be other than magic?

Turning back to the boy who was staring at her now with open amazement on his face, Harriet blushed but nevertheless repeated what her uncle had told her. And oh, how the boy had laughed. But it didn't seem like he was laughing at her, more like if she'd just told him a very funny joke. Harriet couldn't see it though.

"_You live with Muggles. My god, a Parselmouth outside of the Slytherin line, and you have been given to Muggles. That's a disgrace,_" the boy told her, tapping three of his fingers rhythmically against his staff.

Harriet didn't know what a Muggle was, or a Parselmouth, but the first one sounded bad. Or at least, the boy, Salazar, made it sound bad.

"A Parselmouth is someone that can talk to snakes," Salazar continued, though his voice sounded a little different this time. Harriet supposed that made sense, what he said. If the snake wasn't speaking human, then she had to be speaking snake, right? And apparently there was a name for people who could do that. She was a Parselmouth, and so this boy must be one too.

"A Parselmouth is a magical ability that a witch or wizard can have. I'm a wizard, and you, are a witch. We can do magic."

Harriet's protest died on her lips when the boy held out his hand and a small glowing sphere of light lit up the tower compartment. Did that mean all the strange things she'd done, when her hair had grown back, when she'd turned her teachers wig blue today, all that stuff that'd seemed like magic... Was it really?

"_I can teach you. I'm travelling the country, learning new things, and I could look after you and teach you all that I know. A witch, especially a Parselmouth, should not be with Muggles. They do more damage then good._" A Muggle... Was that a non magical person? From the context the boy used it in, that was all it could mean.

Salazar was looking at her expectingly, dark eyes alight with something Harriet didn't quite understand. She'd had daydreams before, of running away, but she knew she wouldn't survive on her own. But if this boy, if Salazar was already travelling the country and had looked after both himself and a snake, surely he could see to it that she could look after herself too? She wouldn't have to do any cleaning if they moved around a lot, and no gardening. She might even be able to help him, she was good at cooking after all! And if he could make things happen like her, if he was like her, than it would be safer to travel with him then stay with her aunt and uncle, the Muggles. Right?

"_You should follow Master. Master looks after Nefertiti when he saved her from the transparent cage, he keeps Nefertiti fed and warm. He would look after the other speaker too._"

"I will look after you," Salazar affirmed, holding out the hand not clutching his staff.

Harriet's brain was going faster than any car she'd ever seen, trying to think through everything, all the good points and all the bad. Her aunt and uncle were liars, there was magic in the world, because Salazar had it. And... And so did she. She should be with the boy like her, shouldn't she?

"Okay, I'll go with you."

* * *

**I am so excited for this idea. I was so bored doing university work, and this just hit me. The idea of Salazar reborn, living the same time as a FemHarry (and her name will be shortened to Harry soon enough when Salazar gives her it as a nickname). I wanted to write a FemHarry and Salazar for so long but I haven't had the ideas, I've been dying trying to come up with something, and then suddenly, here it is!**

**I'm not giving up any of my stories, I just get so many ideas though. I hope you like this. **

**To clarify, Salazar is eleven and six months old here, and Harry is a month off turning eight. There's three years and seven months between them, because I wanted Salazar older than here. **

**Thank you for reading, review and tell me what you thought? Any questions? **

**Tsume  
xxx**


	2. The World That Waited For Her

**Snakebite**

_**Part 1  
**__**Chapter 1  
**__The World That Waited For Her_

_x_

_14th June 1988_

They had left the tower now, going down the big slide that Harriet had never been allowed to go on before. Nefertiti had gone first after the sun had began to set, to make sure the coast was clear. Aunt Petunia was sure be mad right now that she hadn't come home yet, but Harriet didn't have to worry about her anymore. She was leaving home, like all the grown up kids did. Only she was doing it sooner, because she had a friend. An older friend like her who could do magic.

Salazar had told her all about himself, that he was special even for a magical person. That he'd lived one life a thousand years ago, that he'd helped build a school with three other people, a wizard and two witches, a school that would teach magic. He'd made a spell to see his body reborn a thousand years later, and that he had all these memories that'd not made sense before but now that he was older, he could understand them.

Harriet thought it was pretty cool, she'd never found any memories that weren't her own in her head, but Salazar was quick to tell her he wasn't normal, even by wizard-kind. He'd also explained that neither was she, that she was special because she'd reflected what was suppose to be an unstoppable curse. That she'd survived what no one else had before, and it'd made her famous in the wizarding world as a result. Harriet didn't understand though.

If she was so famous, why didn't she live there? Why had she been stuck with her aunt and uncle who didn't like her, who had lied about her parents and their heroic death?

Salazar didn't know either, he couldn't understand why she'd been left in the oh so tender care of her Muggle relations. He assured her that there would have been hundreds of people willing to take such a powerful baby in, so someone must have purposely put her with the Muggles. He thought it was so that she wouldn't be targeted by the followers of the man who'd killed her parents, but Harriet was of the mind that she'd rather have taken that risk than have lived with her aunt and uncle. Salazar seemed to agree, but then again, Harriet was getting the feeling that Salazar disliked Muggles in general.

"Where are we going first?" Harriet asked nervously, running a hand through her messy black hair and adjusting the straps of her bag. She'd emptied it of her text-books upon Salazar's insistence that she wouldn't need them, keeping the thick writing pad and pencils, along with the empty water-bottle that Salazar had refilled with what he called 'wandless magic'. It was no wonder the boy had survived this long on his own then, if he could just magic water up out of nowhere. Though he had explained food wasn't as easy to come by while they waiting for Nefertiti to give the all clear.

"Away from here. Before I freed her from the Muggle zoo, I had to hunt for my food, something that so many Muggles, even our own kind, have forgotten how to do. Now Nefertiti usually does the hunting, she'll kill a rabbit or something with a dry bite and that's usually enough meat for a day."

Harriet nodded. She remembered when they'd studied how humans lived long before the supermarket and everything they had today. She knew that now they were on their own, they'd have to catch their own food or steal it from a shop. The latter thought made her feel a bit queasy, because wouldn't that just be reaffirming everything Aunt Petunia had ever said about her? Hopefully they'd be so good at hunting they wouldn't need to stoop that low.

.

Currently, the two of them had reached the outskirts of Surrey, having trekked into the forest that sat just off the village of Little Whinging. Norbury park was a nature walk, and as expected of the lazy Dursleys, Harriet had never been there before. Salazar explained that he had passed through here after leaving London just a week ago. As such, he knew the perfect spot inside to camp out for a while.

Personally, Harriet found that she'd never been so excited before, this was all so new and different. Aunt Petunia didn't like her getting dirty, so she'd never been allowed to tumble through a forest before like she was doing now. Salazar didn't seem too bothered either, if the way he was knocking on moss-covered trees as they passed them by. Even Nefertiti seemed pleased to be out of the urban environment they'd spent the afternoon in, slithering through the long grass and leaving a trail in the vegetation as she went. She was in the lead, no doubt due to her keener senses, with both Salazar and herself following in her foot-prints, so to speak.

"I think we'll stay in the forest for a while, no doubt your Muggle relatives will eventually begin looking for you, simply because it will look suspicious if you were to suddenly leave as you did. This also means that I can teach you some simple survival skills and magic while we stay in one place."

"Okay... Salazar, what's your last name? And how old are you?"

Looking over his shoulder and down at her, Salazar offered up a small smile, his dark eyes all but black as the sun finished dipping beneath the horizon.

"I was born Salazar Slytherin, and I'll turn twelve in late December." Wow, Salazar's name was certainly a mouthful.

Harriet was rather good at maths, and quick to work out Salazar was just a little over three and a half years older than her. But that couldn't be right, he couldn't be that young surely? He seemed to act so much older. She'd met twelve year olds before, she'd even met a sixteen year old who'd helped out at school, and none of them would have been able to look after themselves like Salazar did. Maybe it was the magic in him that made him act so much older. Harriet knew she wasn't much of a kid herself, not that she'd gotten the chance to really be one. But she certainly looked a kid stood beside Salazar, who was almost a head taller than her.

"I'm eight at the end of July," Harriet murmured, blinked slightly when the sounds around her began to register. It was the sound of running water, but not the smooth flow that came from the taps like back at Aunt Petunia's house. This sounded a bit more rugged, disjointed and, well, natural.

"So you can hear it too? That's the River Mole, we'll be stopping soon, we're nearly at the little clearing I camped in the past week. It's got a lot of fish and there's a good few gooseberry bushes nearby too. Prime spot in all honestly." Harriet nodded, even though she'd never fished before nor tried gooseberries. They weren't average enough for the Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon and Dudley just had an aversion to fruit in general.

"I take it you've never been camping before?"

"Nope, never."

"Well," Salazar smiled humourlessly before turning back to look forwards, least he allow a low hanging branch to hit him, "it's a good thing that I spent my entire childhood doing just that."

.

Salazar was right, even though she'd never done anything like camping before, even she could tell this spot was a perfect place to rest for a while. As they went closer towards the flattened grass that proved Salazar had in fact stayed here, the boy pulled loose a few gooseberries as they went by and gestured for her to do the same. He'd summoned up the little light ball again now, but instead of having it rest in the palm of his hand, it floated around them, casting a small glow just like Dudley's night light did. It was rather pretty to look at, and Harriet was beyond excited when she realized she too would be able to do this too soon enough.

"These'll do for supper. We just need to wash the a bit and then we'll catch some sleep and I can start teaching you in the morning."

She'd been a bit wary at first, but watching and listening as Salazar warded their little clearing, basking in the warmth as he cast a heating charm on them before 'transfiguring' -that's what he called it- a patch of grass into a much thicker batch to serve as a large mattress, Harriet admitted to herself she'd done the right thing following the boy.

And so began a new chapter in the life of The-Girl-Who-Lived.

* * *

**Present Day  
**31st August 1995

Civilization was weird, Harri concluded.

Pressing herself closer into Salazar's side, the dark haired fifteen year old let her eyes scan the surrounds of the muggle city they were in.

London.

It'd been a long, long while since they'd last been here, back when they were dropping some funds off at Gringotts and had discovered, much to Harri the 'ungrateful, worthless niece's' shock, that she did in fact have a trust fund. And then a big fund, the family vault, which she couldn't access till she was seventeen, an adult in the wizarding world.

Salazar, at the time, had jokingly muttered that they could stop camping and instead go buy her Aunt's old place, but Harri had grown fond of living it up in the wilderness. There was nothing that could quite compare to running after a rabbit in the forest, the rush of the wind in her hair, the pounding of the blood in her ears, the thrumming of the magic beneath her fingertips. She knew now, looking back on it, that they'd never have managed on their own without magic.

But that didn't matter.

They had magic, and they'd never had to rely on anyone but themselves before today. Themselves and Nefertiti.

The female snake in question was shrunken down, so as not to cause mass panic, and had wrapped herself around Salazar's broad shoulders, her cool head pressed up against the nape of his neck. Her dark coils blended well with the dark leather tunic Salazar was oh so fond of, so unless their companion were to open her eyes, she probably wouldn't draw any attention to herself.

.

At that moment in time, the two of them were walking down a very specific street in Muggle London, stopping just before the Leaky Cauldron.

Salazar's dark eyes took in the grubby looking pub before them, a frown marring his lips.

"I understand why they believe it would be better for the entrance to look uninviting, but what's a little Muggle replant charm here and there?"

Harri snorted, shuffling slightly closer to the boy as a wizard went bustling past, bursting into the pub without regard to the two of them and their presence near the door. The twist of Salazar's face showed her exactly what he thought of the unsavoury behaviour the wizard had showed them and Harri found herself smiling slightly at the stubborn tick in Salazar's stubble covered jaw. It was a hell of a lot more attractive than what it'd been back when he was fourteen and in that awkward stage of patchy facial hair. Though it had been rather entertaining to watch him repeatedly curse a razor blade for not being as effective as the charmed masterpiece Rowena had made him in his past life.

"Are you sure about this? I mean, you must have something more than you can teach me right? Just another year?" Harri did not want to re-emerge into the wizarding world. She was, in fact, quite content to spend the rest of her life with just Salazar and Nefertiti in the wilderness of Great Britain, learning everything Salazar knew. Which would, no matter how much knowledge she gained over the years, always surpass her.

"Of course I still have a lot to teach you. But as it stands, my idiot of a descendant has gotten another body if my precious school's headmaster is to believed, and as such, you need to come back out. Just to make his attempt to kill you off that much harder."

She didn't even know why she'd bothered arguing.

The two of them had already been to the Ministry, submitting her paperwork for schooling and Salazar's for citizenship. Clearly the desk jockey hadn't even glanced at their names, because otherwise they'd surely have been pulled in for questioning. She could almost imagine the heart attack that whoever was authorizing that paperwork was going to have.

Still, it didn't change the fact that coming back into civilized society was making her nervous. And twitchy.

They'd been dodging wizards for years, people who'd been searching desperately for the missing Girl-Who-Lived. Or more likely, the money that Albus Dumbledore was offering for her safe return. But, neither of them had planned to return until she was good and ready.

And even if she didn't feel it, Salazar had decided she was indeed good and ready. And perhaps she was just a bit anxious to see the castle her friend had often talked about, to explore the corridors and understand all the stories he'd told her. To witness what he'd poured his effort into, where all his blood, sweat and tears had been shed.

"Excited?" Her dark haired companion asked from the corner of his mouth and Harri laughed, unable to help herself.

"So much so that I'm terrified."

"Let's go then."

.

A lot of people stared at them, but then again, Harri couldn't really blame them. Salazar had taken one look at the everyday robes wizard and witches wore and deemed them awful. Instead, he favoured leather and cotton, with only an outer robe for winter. Currently, the two were dressed in a tight fitting leather tunic each, white cotton shirts and matching trousers. Salazar in all black with green trim, and herself all in white with black trim. Her eyes were the only colour upon her, a matching green to Salazar's stitching. The two of them had gotten quite good at making their own outfits over the years, especially after that first winter when Salazar admitted he'd transfigured most of his clothes before that.

Flipping the Hogwarts letter from her back pocket and inspecting the writing -even though she'd read every letter she'd gotten before ignoring it, and the pleading note that often accompanied it- for what she'd need for the year.

"School robes first I think," Salazar whispered, leaning down so his lips were actually level with her ear. That was another thing that hadn't changed, the Hogwarts Founder had remained taller than her, and was now a good six feet high as opposed to her short five four form. It'd taken him a while to get used to not striding everywhere, otherwise she'd have been jogging to keep up with his walk.

"You're just pleased that you won't be playing student. Is that why you had me wait so long?"

"Of course not my little witch, but it is indeed a bonus."

"Yeah, I bet it is," Harri muttered beneath her breath, clutching onto the man's arm as the bricks began to part, allowing them entry to the wizarding alley. Salazar had made her come in disguise last time, and even now, she had a strategically placed white cloth wrapped around her forehead, keeping her hair from her eyes and most importantly, her scar from view.

The witches and wizards that passed by them didn't appear at all worried that a Dark Lord had returned, and it was soon evident why.

"Are they all idiots?" Salazar asked, aghast, as he looked at the front page of the paper.

Said paper was currently slandering both Albus Dumbledore and Cedric Diggory, the Triwizard champion who'd been kidnapped, forced to participate in Voldemort's ritual rebirth and barely escaped with his life. There was a nice big section of the newspaper which seemed dedicated to calling the duo attention seeking liars and Salazar shook his head in disbelief.

"I built a school so that they would learn, but the only thing they seemed to have picked up at all is which end of the wand the spell comes out!" The words were an angry hiss under his breath and Hari laughed again, all humour gone this time.

"I guess you'll just have to start teaching again then?"

"Alas, I am too late to apply this year for that much beloved Defence position. Regardless, it is my castle, and as your tutor, I will need to be nearby. Not that they can kick me out, I made sure of that when I wrote up the Hogwarts charter."

Harri nodded, one hand still curled around Salazar's arm as they stopped before what appeared to be the usual clothing store.

"Shall we my lady?"

.

Inside, the witch never even bothered asking for their names, instead greeting with a warm 'Hogwarts dear?', to which Harri had simply nodded, allowing herself to be swept up in the whirlwind that was Madam Malkins. She was a rather heavy looking woman, with power white hair and soft blue eyes. She looked very much like a stereotypical grandmother, fluttering around Harri and singing her figure praises.

Salazar had slouched against the wall, arms folded across his chest and looking all for one, like an irritated god in human form. It was unreal how attractive the man had grown up to become, especially when she'd seen him in that awkward gangly teenaged phase, heard the breaks in his voice through that embarrassing stage of puberty. She was forever glad that girls developed faster and that she'd just finished up now, a year after Salazar. She'd gotten almost four years to laugh at him, whilst he'd only had a year where he'd not been distracted by his own problems.

"You really should do something with that head-band, it's doing you no favours dear." Madam Malkins murmured, peering up at her stool heightened form. Harri smiled slightly, noticing Salazar nod from the corner of her eye and she reached to untie it as the shop-keeper turned back to look at Salazar.

"Will you be needing anything deary?"

"No thank you Ma'am. We're just here for Harri's Hogwarts robes. Only thing we couldn't make ourselves." Well, it was more to do with the fact Salazar had no idea how the uniform looked now, and Harri wasn't fond of the idea of showing up a thousand years out of date.

The short woman turned back to her, now holding five sets of school robes, before she dropped them in shock at the sight of Harri's forehead.

"Merlin, you're-"

"Harri Potter, yes. And that's Salazar Slytherin over there. Thanks for the robes Ma'am." Pushing the money into the startled woman's hands, Harri gave a flick of her wrist and the school robes leapt into the bag Salazar had made for her birthday, swallowed up by the undetectable extension charms the leather was all but soaked in.

.

She shot out of the door, Salazar following after her at a leisurely pace, one hand in his pocket whilst the other rubbed Nefertiti's head in an affectionate manner.

"I don't know if I can do this Sal, there's just going to be so many expectations."

"And I've told you before that you're more than capable of blowing a hole in those and carving out your own path. It's what I did as you well know. The other three just followed the trail of destruction."

Harri laughed again, letting the dark haired male take her hand and pressed a brief kiss to the edges of her knuckles.

Their relationship was a slow thing, neither of them seeing the need to rush things and ruin everything they'd come to know for the past seven years. People were stopping to stare now, and it wasn't just because they were dressed slightly out of the norm. It was no doubt because her bangs had been blown from her forehead as she ran, exposing a certain trademark scar for all to see.

Salazar carefully brushed the remaining strands out the way before pressing his lips atop the lightning bolt too, a warm but far too amused smile upon his lips.

"Come then, let's go get you a wand. I suppose you could use the power boost."

Slapping his arm, Harri followed after him nevertheless, the delicate fingers of her left hand locked between that of Salazar's stronger ones. She ignored the whispers and shouts that Harriet Potter had resurfaced in the alley, calls for them to go and find Dumbledore.

But no one stopped them as they made their way through the crowds, people ducking out of Salazar's way as it became clear he wasn't afraid to bodily shove them aside.

.

Ollivander, Harri decided, was a very strange man indeed. He'd instantly known it was her, but what was perhaps the most surprising of all, was that he'd recognised Salazar for who he actually was. His face had lit up, and the two had spent a few minutes exchanging information on wandless magic, which according to Ollivander, was sorely lacking in the modern day. Something Salazar had already suspected, but was clearly upset to have confirmed.

It had taken a surprising amount of time for them to find a wand suitable for Harri, and during that time, Salazar had picked one up himself, even if he didn't need it. Between his staff and wandless magic, Harri doubted the older teen would ever use his wand, but as he'd once informed her, it was always nice to have the option.

Finally, a holly and phoenix feather combo lit up the room before her and Salazar offered a sarcastic clap, already halfway through repairing the damage she'd done to the store. Ollivander seemed genuinely pleased with the choice, offering up all the information he had upon his creation, including the owner of it's brother.

"You will do great things Harriet Potter."

A hand came down on her shoulder soothing, familiar magic coursing through her from the contact.

"Of course she will, I trained her."

Ollivander hummed in amused agreement, waving them away as he went about putting back the rejected wands.

.

Salazar led her from the shop, the two of them stepping out onto the cobbled road and physically come to a stop when silence rained down the street.

People were staring at them, some in opened mouthed amazement, and others with suspicions showing in their eyes. But they all seemed to agree no words needed to be said between them, all seemingly content to just stand a make her feel more and more uncomfortable.

Salazar was without a doubt at full height now beside her, his dark eyes would be narrowed and he'd be cataloguing every threat before them. It wouldn't be a surprise to find the hand not holding hers wrapped on the handle of his staff, the trusty wood sheathed in a charmed holder by his side. But Harri didn't look towards him.

Instead, her eyes were drawn to the lone figure that stood ever so slightly apart from the crowd, looking at her with disbelief and obvious longing. If she were to guess by his magic -which held the distinct flavour of creature- she'd have put him at mid thirties, but he looked older. Hard life. Scars ran across his face, a prominent one upon his nose so it looked like it was leaning towards werewolf. And he had a huge black dog beside him, which was just as focused upon her as the rest of the crowd.

Only, it snapped out of it a lot faster than the rest of them, bounding forwards and throwing itself upon her. Stood on it's hide-legs, the beast's face was the same height as her's, and a rough tongue began lapping at her cheek, chin, nose, every inch of her skin that it could reach.

Salazar scowled under his breath, but it was Nefertiti's hissed comment of "_Stupid canine, Harri is a snake witch, not a dog witch,_" that saw her break out into a smile.

"Okay, down boy. It's nice to meet you too."

The man had come over now, clearly the dog's owner, but he was still looking at her with such emotion upon his face. Such strong emotion.

"And you are?" Salazar asked as he slid ever so slightly before her, only the light tugging on her hand seeing her register the fact she was being relocated to a better, defendable position. He could probably feel the creature magic too.

"You are Harriet Potter, aren't you? You look just like James... But you have Lily's eyes." He spoke their names with familiarity and love; without a doubt an old friend of them. So the question was-

"Where were you? When I was dropped on the doorstep of my magic hating Muggle Aunt? Where were you when they decided that the answer to all their prays was to stick me in the cupboard under the stairs and pretend I don't exist? If this is you're little 'welcome to our world', you're seven years too late. Hell, Salazar was eleven when we met and even he could recognise how crap my life was. He took a seven year old kid under his wing when he was eleven. Hell, he'd have been better off on his own, but he did it anyway. So he's the only wizard I want to bother with."

As usual, Salazar got the subtle cues that told him it was time to leave, and spun on heel, apperating them out of there.

The last thing Harri saw was the shattered and heart-broken faces of both man and dog as they disappeared with a crack.

* * *

**It really is unbelievable to response this has gotten so far, I mean, twenty reviews in the first six hours? That's epic and amazing and I honestly love you guys. Wow, I'm so pleased that I decided to post this the second I finished it, though the next update should come within the week. I'll send of PM's the day before so that people who review are in the know.  
So dearest 'Guest'y who suggested this, login so I can do so!**

**Ah, you fabulous people who reviewed, I wish I could bodily tackle every one of you for a hug, you all had such amazing things to day. Questions, I love questions, I love answering them, so ask. Please please please?**

**Also, I was listening to 'Stranger Like Me' from Tarzan whilst writing this, and it just fits the two of them so well.**

**.**

**On this chapter, Harri doesn't know Remus or Sirius, she doesn't know the background story, only that she was left along for oh so very long. She grew up only really interacting with Salazar and other snakes, so she'd not going to be very trusting to begin with. Don't worry though, that isn't the last of Sirius and Remus, far from it.  
Also, there will be the starts of the chapter that will show the background of when they were young, and then there will be the present day section. So you get to see them develop, but so we can also get on with the story. And mainly so I don't have to focus on one bit at once and can instead jump around.**

**Thank you for reading, review and tell me what you thought? Any questions?**

**Tsume  
xxx**


	3. The School That Sung For Him

**Snakebite**

_**Part 1  
**__**Chapter 2  
**__The School That Sung For Him_

_x_

_15th June 1988_

Harriet woke up to the unusual sounds of the wilderness around her, the rush of a river and the chirping harmony that was a flock of nearby birds. For a moment, she thought that perhaps she was late waking up, that Dudley already had the television on far too loud and that she was sure to get hit for not being awake to make breakfast.

But then, slowly, the facts came back to her. She'd ran away last night, with a magical boy she'd met that'd promised to show her a world, the world her parents had belonged to, and the one she should be in. She was laid out on the softest collection of grass she'd ever felt her skin brush up against, and finally, Dudley never watched the nature programs.

Sitting up, Harriet rubbed the sleep from one eye with the back of her hand, searching out her two companions with the one not under attack. Nefertiti was lounging across a large rock that hadn't been there the day before, its very presence making her feel excited. Salazar wouldn't have been able to move a rock that big, so he either found it and made it fly there, or he made it out of thin air. The very idea of learning to do something as simple sounding as that had her bouncing up onto her feet, looking around for the dark haired boy.

He was knelt beside the bank of the stream, running one wet hand through his dark locks whilst the other held some form of woven bowl. It wasn't until she made her way over, coming to a stop beside him that she saw the bowl was filled with berries, strawberries, gooseberries and even a few she didn't recognise.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Salazar had twisted around to look up at her from where he was leaning over the stream, a miniature rain-cloud hovering over the bowl and wetting all it's contents. Like when they'd washed the gooseberries the previous night, only the little rain cloud meant his other hand was free to rifle through the berries, which had been Harriet's job yesterday. Mainly so Salazar could keep summoning the high pressured water jet with his free hand.

"Yeah, did you? Will you show me some magic? Will you show me how to do some? What're we learning today?"  
Salazar laughed, a deep, rich sound with his head thrown back. But it wasn't like with Dudley and his friends, instead, it was more like he was amused by her actions. The warmth of it had Harriet smiling slightly, unable to help it as her lips twitched upwards at the corners.

"I'm going to teach you how to fish." At her crestfallen expression, Salazar smiled again, placing the bowl between them and plucking out a large strawberry and chomping into it.

"Before you can learn magic, you need to learn how to look after yourself. Getting food is the first step, but then cleaning it will involve some magic. I'll teach you how to make a net and how to make a fishing rod today, and then how to correctly gut a fish and clean it. That last part will involve magic."

Harriet opened her mouth to speak, but Salazar shoved a gooseberry between her lips before she could have a chance to form the words.

"Breakfast first, questions later."

* * *

**Present Day**

_31st August 1995_

Harri frowned, flicking through all the surfaces thoughts she'd been able to glean from the werewolf man she'd met not half an hour ago. He certainly had a lot of regrets to him name, the forefront of which was how she herself had ended up in the loving care of the Dursley's. She understood that he wouldn't have stood a chance at adopting her, not with his condition.

But then again, the law had never stopped Salazar before.

Her best friend had a health disregard for the rules which had only ever helped them survive. Maybe the werewolf man hadn't been a Slytherin though, maybe he actually lived a good and honest life, much unlike the two of them.

What was perhaps the most important tidbit she'd recovered from his mind though as the identity of the dog.

One Sirius Black, her god-father, who'd been falsely imprisoned for thirteen years.

Questions ran through her head, but Harri couldn't even begin to answer them.

Instead, she rolled over on the bed of hay they'd taken to for the night, searching through the dim lighting of the barn until her eyes came to rest on the form of Salazar Slytherin in all of his unconscious glory. He was curled up under the large, worn blanket they'd made years ago, on his side and facing away from her.

Scoffing, she shuffled closer to the master legilimens, slipping one arm around him and pressing herself closer as her eyes fluttered shut. She'd worry about it all tomorrow, today, this was their last day, and even if she only had an hour til September arrived, and even if she was just going to sleep, she was going to enjoy it.

* * *

_1st September 1995_

"So, this is the entrance huh?"

Harri Potter was stood before the so called entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on her face.

Beside her, Salazar Slytherin looked both amused and sceptical, but obviously this had never been the plan for Hogwarts when he was alive. They fetched the students for seven years of schooling, the children did not come to them. It was a foreign concept, but back then, they'd had no way of getting word around about their school.

Now though, now the name Hogwarts was famous, as was his own. If somewhat negative.

Okay, his name was exceedingly negative to anyone outside of his House, but he honestly couldn't care less.

Harri knew this. He was a Slytherin, ambition, cunning and resourcefulness might as well be his middle name, instead of the awful Azarias he was stuck with. He'd also been the only Founder with a middle name, and when he'd finally relented and allowed her to have a bit of liquor over the summer, the two of them had spent a good deal of time complaining to one another. Salazar hated his middle name with a passion, so she always knew if she ever wanted him to leave her alone, all she had to do was address him by it.

The older teen had sworn left and right he'd find something that annoyed her just as much, and he would wield it like the weapon it was. Harri looked forward to it. If anything, she loved their verbal battles as much as she loved to spar and duel with him.

The two of them watched as a wizard, young enough to be a first year, disappeared through the wall and Salazar gave a gruff of approval.

"Well, at least we know it wasn't a joke I overheard that day."

Harri laughed, taking the hand that was offered her and then bodily dragging her companion through the portal, submerging herself in the temporary darkness before popping out the other side. It was bustling with wizard and witches of every age, siblings running around and screaming their goodbyes to all the older ones leaving. Families were teary eyed with proud smiles upon their faces, and the love was so thick in the air it was almost edible.

Salazar was wide eyed, taking the scene around him in with barely disguised wonderment and awe.

Gently elbowing her friend in the side, Harri drew him through the crowd and into the train, picking out a compartment and random and dropping into one of the plush benches.

.

The two sat in silence for a minute, Harri allowing him a moment to take everything in. She supposed it was like having a baby, raising it and watching it grow and leave home. And then, when you next hear from it, suddenly their name is everywhere and people love it. Hogwarts was something Salazar had made, just a little idea he and three friends had cooked up in an attempt to make the world into a better place. She doubted that he'd expected it to take off as much as it did, to spread it's wings and fly so high that everyone could see it now, see how great an idea it'd been. All the effort he'd put in, and it'd paid off in leaps and bounds. He'd made this, and he no doubt felt overwhelming pride. And he had the right to do so.

The sounds of family life were muffled by the windows of the train, leaving their light breathing to fill the room around them.

Before Salazar could say anything though, the door opened and a boy stepped in, skidding to a halt at the sight of them.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."

"We don't mind," Harri quickly mused, gesturing for the teen, already dressed in his school robes, to take a seat. She recognised him instantly, even if his face was paler and his eyes heavy with dark bags. The picture from the paper had shown a teen boy older than here, nervous but determined to prove himself. The boy before her looked like he'd seen too much, done too much and just wanted to fade into the background now. But with the papers slandering you left and right, there was little chance to get away.

Cedric Diggory was looking over at Salazar's dazed form with a curious expression on his face, like he was too nervous to ask what was wrong.

"Ignore him, he's a bit dazed by all of this," Harri gestured around them, at the train, the platform out the window. Hell, all of this stuff connecting to Hogwarts. Cedric offered up a grateful smile at the explanation, before taking in their appearances with the slightest hint of apprehension on his face.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognise you."

A snort from Salazar and Harri slapped him upside the head, rolling her eyes at his theatrical wince.

"Yeah, we're new. I'm the only student though. He's just here to bum about... Er, I mean, he's my tutor?" Harri shrugged, smiling innocently. Cedric seemed a bit confused, but still somewhat entertained by the way Harri was conducting herself. She was glad, because that's exactly what she was aiming for. Now, to get down to the most serious business she'd ever had to conduct since her meeting with the goblins.

"We don't believe the papers by the way, if you say Voldemort is back, then he's got to be."

The poor boy actually recoiled as she spoke, as if she'd reached across and physically slapped him. Salazar's keen dark eyes had looked up at the words, now fully focused on the conversation around him.

Cedric's jaw set slightly and he pulled up the sleeve of his left arm, exposing a truly awful scar running right up the length of his forearm.

"I wouldn't lie about it," he affirmed, face hard and Harri nodded, even as Salazar took the boy's arm and let one of his own hands hover over the healed wound.

"That, is very dark magic," her partner in crime finally mused, drawing his hand back and scrunching his face up at the pale arm still stretched out before them. Retrieving his arm, the bronze haired teen nodded, obviously still uncomfortable with the topic of choice.

"I felt him come back too. You're not the only one he's left scars on," Harri finally murmured, lifting her fringe to expose her forehead and watching as Cedric's face went from suspicious irritation to complete shock in a second.

"You're Harriet Potter."

"Just Harri please. I'll happily speak in your defence, as will Sal." Jabbing her thumb in the direction of the man in question, Harri watching as Salazar offered his hand up in greeting.

"He also happens to have left a scar on my linage. Salazar Slytherin, reborn and unfortunate enough to have had to pull this one," he gestured back to Harri, who stuck out her tongue, "through childhood and beyond."

.

They spoke all the way to Hogwarts, Harri happily explaining just where she'd been all these years -'Terrorizing the countryside as this idiot taught me all he knew'- and Salazar telling a few of his more amusing tales of the Founders. Her favourite would forever be the one with Godric and the Griffin, which had Cedric laughing so loud the compartment next door began banging against the wall in an attempt to quieten them. Salazar's response was to throw up a silencing charm and then for good measure, jinx the wall so that the next person to bang on it would receive a nasty shock.

Cedric had informed them of all that'd happened at Hogwarts during his years. In his third, Voldemort himself had possessed the defence teacher to try and steal something important, but'd been thwarted by Dumbledore. In his fifth, Sirius Black had been breaking into Hogwarts, but disappeared shortly after it was revealed that Pettigrew was alive. Everyone thought the ex-convict was in hiding until the recently revealed rat Animagus was caught. And then, there'd been the last year, with the Triwizard tournament.

Salazar was smug to learn other countries had copied his idea, and had paid rapt attention as Cedric began explaining all that had gone on during his tasks. He'd been happily describing his encounter with the dragon when the door was pulled open, three Slytherins stood on the other side.

They seemed happy enough to poke fun at 'Crazy Cedric', until Salazar had stood up. He'd grabbed hold of the nearest one, a boy with platinum blond hair, and pulled him into the cabin before slamming the door shut in other's faces. He'd then released the shrinking charm on Nefertiti, casually inform the snake to tie the boy up and leave him on the floor. A locking charm at the door, and there was no rescue on the way. Harri had shot a silencing charm at the boy for good measure before gesturing for Cedric to continue with his story.

When the bronze haired boy had finished up, the liveliness that'd come to him during his explanation was quick to disappear, leaving a nervousness as he looked down at the boy still trapped on the floor.

"What are you gonna do with Malfoy?" This question was obviously directed at Salazar, light grey eyes switching between the bound boy and his captor.

Salazar snorted, rolling his eyes before finally bestowing a look down on the cretin that'd interrupted their story time.

"If I could, I would kick him from my house the instant we arrive at Hogwarts. Alas, once Godric's stupid hat has placed someone, it can't be undone without expelling the student..." Salazar trailed off, muttering beneath his breath 'there's an idea', and Harri had to gently tap him on the arm to get his attention back on track. "Regardless, in my first life I always punished students for bullying. And while I do like the idea of leaving him tied up, he shouldn't be privileged enough to listen to some of the stories both Harri and I have to offer... Yet I suppose you'll tell me it's too much to throw him off the train while it's in motion..." Finally, Salazar waved his hand with a flourish, the door opening and the boy -Malfoy?- shrinking till he was no taller than Harri's hand was long.

"Only small minded people pick on others, so I believe he should start reflecting his inner self." Another flick of his hand and the tiny boy was gone, the door shut once again, but this time, locked.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, before Harri cracked first, giggling slightly, which only set Cedric off with a round of chuckles.

Especially when they heard the tiny, high-pitched, "My father will hear about this!" from outside.

"Oh! Sal, tell Cedric that one about Godric, Rowena and the hat."

"That is a good one. It all started just on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, Godric had decided it was a good time to have everyone learn the lay of the land. They only problem was, that five hours later, he was missing one of Rowena's favourite students when he did his role count. Of course, she was furious, and then the idiot got this brilliant idea about a hat..."

.

They arrived at school without any more interruptions. Cedric had looked like death warmed over when they met him. Now, after good company for a good six hours, he seemed more like the teenager he was suppose to be.

Harri herself was bouncing with excitement from everything she'd heard from both males she'd spent a quarter of the day with, though that might just be the copious amounts of chocolate that she'd consumed. Salazar had been nearly as bad, fascinated by the chocolate frogs and the charms layered upon them, created by what could only be expert minds. Cedric seemed to find their complete cluelessness to society endearing, easily explaining everything they seemed mildly curious about and all in all, just being a genuinely good human being. Harri had no idea how people could have possibly turned on him, as the Hufflepuff had later confined in them. Salazar had seemed to know why.

It was because Cedric was such a good person at heart, naturally, those around him felt threatened and had to find ways in which drag him down to what they deemed a more 'human level'. Didn't stop them from being idiots though, without a doubt.

Not that it matter, because the two of them had accepted Cedric into their fold. He would never share the same closeness that Harri felt for Salazar, and she hoped, vice-versa, but he was still one of them. And if there was anything living off their own backs had taught them, it was how to stick together with those they trusted.

As they were standing to leave the compartment, Salazar having spelled Harri into her robes with a little smirk on his face, Harri placed her hand on Cedric's shoulder, begrudgingly noticing that he too was about six feet tall.

"Don't worry about what those idiots out there say. I believe you, and so does Salazar. You're part of our, admittedly small, group now. And we tough it out for each other."

Cedric smiled, and Harri hoped he was somewhat touched by her gesture. The only human she'd really interacted with these past few years had been Salazar, and he was as good at showing those 'tender' feelings as what Nefertiti was.

"Erm," Cedric began after a moments pause as they flooded out into the corridor, "who is in this group?"

"Me, you, Sal and Nefertiti, Sal's snake."

"Oh." Cedric smiled sheepishly but Harri just grinned, looping one arm through Cedric's and the other in Salazar's and letting the Hufflepuff lead them to their destination.

"You can take the carriages up with the rest of us, and then I'll pass you off to whatever teacher we see first. Hopefully someone will get the two of you sorted... Though I doubt you'll need to be," he added as an after thought, looking at Salazar as he spoke. The dark haired male just grinned, coiling an arm around Harri's waist and pulling her closer till she was flushed against his side.

.

They rode up to Hogwarts in a comfortable silence, Harri and Salazar eagerly taking in everything around them. A few curious faces seemed locked upon their sudden presence, especially when the magic of Hogwarts reached out and wrapped itself around their carriage, welcoming Salazar back onto the grounds.

"She remembers me," he whispered, looking slightly breathless and his hair ruffled. Cedric laughed and Harri smiled, pressing a shy kiss to her friend's cheek. She wasn't big on public displays of affection, but the only one close enough to them to see anything was Cedric, and she rather liked him, so didn't feel too bothered. The carriage rocked slightly to a side in the wind, the Thestrals pulling it letting out little snorts as they fought for control.

"I remember the herd of Thestrals that stuck around Hogwarts back when it was built. Helga swore they were an omen of death and nothing we said would ever see her believe otherwise. Though she did appreciate the fresh resources for her potions."

"I thought you'd have been the potions master?" Cedric was looking at Salazar with obvious curiosity now and Harri twisted her neck upwards to get a better look at the Founder. Come to think on it, Salazar had never actually told her just what it was that he'd taught at Hogwarts.

"That was Helga. Godric had Charms, Rowena had her Transfigurations and I got Defence. Not this stupid DADA you have now, but real Defence. Defence of the magic, body and mind. That was a bit of a mouthful though, so we shortened it to Defence."

"You'd probably be a lot better than what we have right now. Rumour has it that there's a curse on the position, no one's been able to keep it for a year."

Salazar laughed and Harri rolled her eyes, head leaning against the firm side of Salazar as she listened to his voice rumble in his chest, the soft pounding of his heart-beat.

"Well it's a good thing Harri has had a consistent teacher for the past seven years. I'll still be teaching her even while we're here... You're welcome to join if you think you can keep up." Fingers danced along her side, and now with the utter lack of leather tunic she was oh so used to, Harri leapt half a foot in the air at the tickling sensations.

"Salazar!" The dark haired boy laughed, Cedric chuckling ever so slightly under his breath as they pulled up outside of the castle. The two newcomers paused though at the sight of the dour looking man before them.

"Potter... And guest. The Head-master wants you in his office." And he swept away, clearly expecting them to follow him and his black robes that billowed like a cape behind him.

Salazar watched him go with the slightest tick of amusement, though Cedric suddenly seemed much more subdued.

"Well, see you later on I guess."

.

The walk to the Head-master's office was taken at their own pace, no doubt annoying the man that'd been sent to collect them. In fact, Harri suspected the only reason they'd not been snapped at was that Salazar was giving her the verbal walk through of the castle, pointing out countless secret passageways that, if by the dark man's gleaming eyes, had been all but forgotten up to this day.

They came to a stop before a rather fancy looking gargoyle, Salazar hissing an '_Open,_' beneath his breath and ignoring who she was now almost sure to be the potion's master as he leapt half a foot in the air.

"And of course a little hiss of Parseltongue at any of them will override any password that'd been set and let you through, I made sure of that one," Salazar offered up with a wink, taking her hand and looping it onto his arm as he led the two of them up the stairs.

Within the office, a multitude of portraits decorated the walls, some of which stirred and took a good look at the trio that'd appeared. Salazar obviously stood out the most, still decked out in his black leather and cotton combo, seemingly unbothered by the strange looks he was receiving. All sorts of odd little trinkets were spread across the room, at least one on every surface and every counter. A handful were even floating around the desk, some spinning, others glowing and the rest still.

In this quite possible hostile territory, the two of them fell back on their tried and true methods. She took in the lay of the lands, examining everything and anything that could possibly be of possible benefit to them, be it in fight or flight, whilst Salazar assessed the possible threats. She would always finish her task first, simply because her companion was a perfectionist, and would notice even the smallest detail about a person, which gave her a few seconds to take the people in herself.  
She'd tired of looking at the potions master -potion stained fingers, hair greasy, possibly from potion fumes- about half way through the school tour, so instead turned her eyes to take in the aged Head-master.  
She knew well enough that the power of a wizard- the chance of a wizard winning a fight didn't depend on age, but honestly. The man before her probably wouldn't be able to dodge half as quick as what Harri could, and he wouldn't be able to surprise the enemy with a shock punch or something.

Hell, he probably wasn't carrying any weapon upon him but his wand, whereas Harri herself had four daggers charmed to return to their sheaths after being thrown, and of course, her oh so favoured sword. No one would ever know how many knives Salazar had on him, she'd counted twelve during one spar, and of course, there was his preferred weapon of choice, the staff that'd been with him longer than she had.

Still though, the old man's power levels were nothing scoff at, so Harri stepped closer to Salazar with one hand free to cast and the other reaching for the hidden ruby hilt of her sword.

"Harriet my dear, it is a relief to see you safe and well."

Harri paused, but never let her grip upon the hilt of her sword waver. If anything, she tightened her fingers around it, eyes narrowing as Salazar drew his staff free from it's custom-made case.

"Yeah, you can thank Salazar for the safe and well business. Offered me a way out from that happy family time where all the Dursley's would gather together and play 'let's demoralize Harriet'. Regardless, the past is the past, I'm here for my schooling and that is it. Something about being sorted?"

The old man, who she was now pretty sure was Albus Dumbledore, sighed, but didn't appear to want to stop them. No doubt now that she was in sight, he'd rather play along for a bit before trying to push her. She was a flight risk and she knew it. If anything Salazar had always taught her to use everything, and she meant everything, to her advantage.

"We will see you sorted, but then I must get along to the feast. I'm afraid I shall have to discuss with you in morning just where you have been Harriet."

"I can show her to the dorms."

"And just who are you." The sour looking potions master didn't ask for an identity, he demanded one.

Salazar gazed back unflinching, stood to his full height and dark eyes burning with renewed hell-fire.

"I am Salazar Slytherin reborn. And as dictated by the Hogwarts charter, you can not legally remove me from this castle."

The hat was dropped over her head before Harri could witness any more, and the world seemed to go silent around her.

'_Hello?_'

'_Well, better late then never, eh, Miss Potter?_' The voice was sly, filtering in through her ears with just the slightest hint of smugness.

'_Indeed hat, indeed._'

'_Oh ho, isn't this a surprise too, I would never have expected him to turn up, especially a thousand years in the future. These are certainly interesting time we live in. Regardless, you provide a good contrast to our dear Slytherin, and with that bravery -really child, running off with the first boy you meet- it's a close call, but it's got to be-_'

"Gryffindor!"

.

Harri pulled the hat from her head in time to see the last of Salazar's magic pouring into the stone flooring, the walls and no doubt the wards of the castle. There was a green glow all over the place, aged magic in the air singing, duetting with that of Salazar's own. There was a slight brush against her own, no doubt recognising the fact she'd been so close to one of the Founders for so long, but she was mostly ignored in favour of welcoming the master of the castle home. The magic of Hogwarts danced with that of Salazar's, strengthening whatever weak points the castle had grown over the years. Be they in the wards, the castle's magic or the stone-work itself, it'd be fixed before the night was out.

The potions professor was staring at Salazar with shock and apprehension upon his face, whilst Dumbledore looked twisted between worry and awe at the magic whirling around them.

As soon as it was there though, the glow died off, Salazar lifting his staff from the floor before sheathing it once again.

"Come little witch, I shall show you to your tower. Gryffindor, typical." He meant for her to hear the last bit, the fabricated disdain in his voice thick and Harri laughed, slipping her arm around his and exiting the office.

Had either of the two looked back, they'd have seen the flabbergasted look of one Slytherin head and the wide with shock eyes of one Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

**I was determined to get this chapter out before I disappeared to write my essay, so the next update won't be till after Friday I'm afraid. I hope this'll tie you over till then. I wasn't expecting to finish this till morning, but I could actually focus for a bit, so here it is. I think I'm off to bed now though, I'm so very tired. **

**As for the image of this, that's how I picture Salazar to look. I'm not the best of drawers, but hey-ho.**

**.**

**On this chapter, Cedric is going to make a good solid ally to them, and of course Dumbledore is treading lightly. Harri had shown up with a boy that can command the castle magic better than he can, and even before that he hasn't been able to find her. So he knows if he doesn't play is cards right there's every chance she'll disappear and never be heard from again. Though he does want his answers. **

**As for Salazar's middle name, I just like the idea of his initals spelling out to sound like 'Sas' **

**Thank you for reading, review and tell me what you thought? Any questions?**

**Tsume  
xxx**


	4. The Boy That Defending Her Honour

**Snakebite**

_**Part 1  
**__**Chapter 3  
**__The Boy That Defending Her Honour_

_x_

_25th June 1988_

"Salazar, why can't they see us?"

Quite a few days had passed since Harriet had ran away into the wilderness, days in which she'd learn things far more useful than what school had been attempting to teach her. She'd learnt how to fish, how to prepare it for eating. She'd been shown all the edible plants, berries, nuts and herbs that grew in the surrounding forest. Salazar had even taught her how to hunt the forest animals. She'd felt a bit sick the first time they'd skinned a rabbit, but she was getting better at it. And what was truly the most important thing, Salazar had taught her how to pull out her magic, how to twist it in her hands till it became what she wanted it to be. True the only thing she knew how to do right now was make sure nothing would poison her, but still, to be able to use her magic at all...

Currently the two of them were watching two wizards comb through the woods, no doubt looking for her.

"I'm twisting the light to block us out, like how invisibility cloaks work, but it takes all my concentration." She got the unspoken 'please be quiet for a minute, I'm working on some powerful magic'. He'd only ever shown her one piece of powerful magic so far, a ritual to do with nature. She hadn't fully understood the explanation, but it'd been impressive to watch, and to feel the sheer power that'd bled from Salazar's form was amazing.

"And you'll teach me to do this?"

Salazar smirked, adjusting his grip on the staff.

"Maybe in a few years little witch."

**Present Day**

_2nd September 1995_

Harri rolled her shoulders, flicking the wet ends of her ponytail over her shoulder as she walked back down one of the many staircases of Hogwarts. Salazar was leaning against the banister at the bottom, and he too looked freshly showered and shaven from their morning run. He was drumming his fingers against the staircase, dark eyes never moving from her approaching form as a pair of first year Hufflepuffs walked past. They stared at his dark clad body, mouths open in a little 'o' of surprise. Salazar finally seemed to notice he was being watched, because he turned to look to two and offered a small smile and polite nod in greeting. Instead of returning the greeting though, the two girls looked away with reddening faces and giggled nervously, quickly speeding towards the great hall. Harri raised a brow as she stopped beside him, taking in Salazar's bemused face at the reaction he'd received.

"Times have certainly changed," he mused, taking one of her small hands in his before making his way towards the grand doors of the great hall. Harri nodded in mock agreement, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Of course. Either that or they just don't know who you are." A small smile touched Salazar's lips as they walked through the threshold, approaching neither the Gryffindor nor Slytherin table. Instead, the two of them dropped down beside a surprised Cedric Diggory, Harri situated between the two males. They ignored the confused glances from the students that'd been avoiding Cedric like the plague, no doubt unable to understand why the boy they were ostracising was with company.

Out of the corner of her eye, Harri noticed the aged headmaster making his way to the head-table, no doubt to address the students in regards to the latest occupants of the castle. He was in a fetching shade of emerald today, interestingly enough with little snakes slithering around the hems of his robes. A homage to Salazar no doubt, and if the amused twitch of his lips were anything to go by, the reborn Founder was rather pleased with the look. Several Gryffindors however, were not, looking at the head-master as if he were the Scar to their Mufasa. The Slytherins, oddly enough, looked both aghast and wary, as if expecting the robes to combust on a whim, revealing the true Gryffindor colours beneath.

Harri shrugged her shoulders slightly, turning back to her sausages as Salazar enquired about Cedric's sleep, whether the Hufflepuff dorms were adequate. She caught the end of their conversation, something to do with the dormitory protection and if the charms were still working correctly, when Dumbledore stood up to address the masses. Harry bit into her sausage sandwich, a thoughtful curve to her lips as she watched the old man, who caught her eye for a second and smiled.

"Students. As the most observant of you noticed, I was perhaps a little late to the sorting yesterday. This is because I was clearing a new arrival to our student body, along with her tutor whom, as his right, will be housed within our castle walls." A good few people looked interested now, looking between one another for the outlier. It wasn't hard to spot, considering Salazar's clothing wasn't exactly the norm nowadays.

"Miss Potter has joined our fifth year Gryffindors, so please be sure to give her a warm welcome." The attention was brought to her and Harri sighed, well aware that she couldn't possibly keep her head down any longer. Instead, she offered the head-master a lazy salute before turning back to her breakfast, not really interested in being paraded around before the masses, who seemed to be still processing what was going on if the shocked silence was anything to go by. Obviously seeing his chance to finish up his introductions without having to deal with a mass panic, Dumbledore rushed onwards.

"We are also delighted to welcome our reborn Founder, Mr Slytherin, back home."

At the address Salazar scowled, rolling his eyes before he too offered up a small salute to the headmaster, turning back to his hushed conversation with Cedric as shocked cries finally began to fill the great hall.

"Music to my ears," Salazar muttered under his breath and Harri couldn't help but laugh, turning to grin at her companion as Salazar plucked up a napkin, swiping the white cloth across the corners of her mouth. It came away with a small amount of ketchup, a novelty that the two of them had rarely had outside of their yearly trip into civilization before today.

The bronze haired Hufflepuff they'd befriended was watching with a look of curious amusement as Salazar put the napkin back down, planting a small kiss in the corner of her mouth, ignoring all the people that were watching. Harri didn't really understand the embarrassment that flooded her at all the eyes watching her, so instead turned her attention to the approaching Professor. She was a stern looking woman, with her hair pulled back in a strict looking bun. The woman seemed a bit miffed at her presence on the Hufflepuff table, but pushed past it, her eyes not even resting up Salazar for a second. Very professional, Harri was impressed.

"Miss Potter, your time-table..." Now that her job was done, she did look to the young Founder, her eyes narrowed slightly and it clicked that this woman had to be the Gryffindor head of house.

"Mr... Slytherin. How will you be spending your time during your stay?"

Salazar looked up at the woman and offered up a blinding smile, running a hand through his dark locks.

"I don't believe we've been introduced Miss?"

"Minerva McGonagall, transfigurations Professor."

"Ah, Rowena's old craft. A Pleasure. As for my time, I shall be spending it with Harri of course, seeing how the schooling education is and I will be covering the gaps in her knowledge."

Professor McGonagall nodded, taking a quick glance around them. Clearly the stern woman's presence was the only thing holding back the masses from descending upon the two of them like beasts.

"Perhaps it would be prudent if I were to escort the two of you to your first lesson?"

"That'd be lovely Professor. See you later Cedric."

.

The halls of Hogwarts were magnificent. She hadn't been fully awake the previous day, or rather, not in a state to really appreciate their beauty. Instead, her head had been full of thoughts, and it wasn't until she was laying within the Gryffindor dormitory, long after the other girls had come up, tried to open the curtains of her bed and given up, that she'd sorted through her thoughts. In all honesty, she'd been expecting to go to Slytherin, considering she'd spent a good portion of her life with the man himself. But after a lot of thought, she'd figured out why she was a Gryffindor, even if she'd never fully considered herself one. If she was a perfect snake like Salazar, they'd never have gotten on as well as they did. They'd both be looking for undertones in the other, constantly paranoid. That joyous idea of being unable to live with yourself. So, perhaps, she offered a good contrast to Salazar. Not to say they didn't share a few similarities.

The history of magic classroom was a rather dark looking room, especially as no sunlight had broken through the grey overcast that hung above the castle. Salazar took a sweeping glance around before wordlessly pulling the required text from his expandable mole-skin pouch, seating himself at the very back of the classroom, but still able to see the door with how far to the left he'd sat. Harri dropped into position next to him, right in the corner of the classroom so that her older and wiser friend may act as a buffer between her and, well, everything else. Students began to file in almost the second McGonagall left them, the red and blues of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw flooding the room. Everyone gawked at the two of them, there were no exceptions, whether it be a shy glance or a full out stare, it was clear no one actually planned on paying attention to whatever would be taught today. Salazar picked up on it too, for he took a look around the teenaged faces before turning to Harri with a raised brow.

"What do you think, should we answer their questions?"

Snorting, Harri nodded, dumping her chin into her palm, elbow upon the table.

"Are you really Salazar Slytherin?" A Ravenclaw asked first, ever the ones to seek out knowledge and confirm facts.

"Indeed I am. Ritual magic, though I had to wait a good thousand years. Next?"

"What the hell is Harriet Potter doing with a slimy snake like you?!"

The temperature of the room dropped instantly, emerald eyes searching out the person who'd opened their mouth and spewed those words. Harri finally found the source, a gangly red head stood beside two other boys, a frown on his face and his arms folded across his chest.

"What am I doing with him? In the locational, or the physical aspect? I'll assume you mean the former; we've been travelling together since I was eight. And he's certainly not slimy. Not any part of him I've touched anyway." There was the underlying implications in the words, bold enough even a lion could pick it up. And he did, if the reddening of his face was anything to go by. Oh, Salazar had certainly taught her how to play with her words, how to twist everything her benefit. It was certainly one of her favourite tricks that he'd shown her.

"Is the whole muggle-born prejudice true?" The voice was quiet, though there was a solid tone beneath it, like shine-less steel, not to catch the attention, but when pressure was applied, refused to break without extreme effort. Harri watched Salazar from the corner of his eye as he tensed slightly, looking towards the head of bushy hair, where the question had come from. His cool, charcoal grey eyes took in her appearance for a few seconds, the tension in the room heavy in the air before finally he spoke.

"Your name girl?"

"Hermione Granger, muggle-born." Oh, she was certainly a credit to her house. She stood tall and proud before Salazar, her brown eyes daring him to make a comment. It was obvious the other Gryffindors weren't too fond of her; judging by the amount of books curled up in her arms, and the lumpy shape of her backpack, she'd give any Ravenclaw a run for their money. A smile lit up Salazar's face as he held out his hand in greeting, pressing his lips to the back of her knuckles after she hesitantly took it.

"A pleasure, Miss Granger. The only muggle-born whom I have personally had a problem with was a man by the name of Norman Boniface. He was muggle-born, but sold his fellow witch and wizard out to the muggles, watched them burn at the stake just so they wouldn't attack him. So no, I have no problem with muggle-borns. Magic is magic. Helga herself was muggle-born. Though I the popular opinion that I care little for muggles holds truth." The ghostly professor had floated in, but a Ravenclaw asked what had happened to Boniface and Harri knew the professor wouldn't be imparting knowledge today. The hunt and subsequent death of Boniface at the hands of himself and Godric was one of Salazar's favourite tales to tell, there was no way they were going to get much official studying dome today.

.

As expected, Salazar monopolized the class, even the ghost teacher -after five minutes of droning on to no one- had stopped to listen to the Founder. After all, there were few that'd really experienced history like Salazar had, even fewer who were able to share the knowledge. The red haired boy who'd called on the two of them at the start was fuming quietly in the corner, but even he seemed to realize that Salazar was far more interesting than the actual teacher, if the way he'd begrudgingly listened to the story were anything to go by. Now, the two of them were being led by bushy haired Hermione to their potions lesson, stating it was best to get their during the fifteen minute break. She seemed nervous for a second, looking between their linked fingers before she sighed and finally threw the question out that was obvious burning her up inside.

"Are you two dating?"

"If you're asking if I am courting Harri, then that would be a yes. I would be foolish to allow her to get away."

Harri smiled slightly, bouncing up on her tiptoes and dragging Salazar's face down as she went, lips brushing his cheek.

"You say the sweetest things silver tongue."

Hermione looked exceedingly uncomfortable, but Harri didn't care too much. She wasn't going to change the way she acted with Salazar, just because there were more people watching their every move. The three of them joined the line outside the potions classroom, Salazar looking amused at the dungeon door creaked open with an ominous whine. The Slytherins, whom they appeared to be sharing this class with, were staring at Salazar as if he were some god gracing them with his presence, and her as if she were an unworthy believer.

"Potter, what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing, hanging out with our Founder?" The snooty blond whom Cedric had previously identified as 'Malfoy' on the train had pushed his way through the crowd to them, a scowl upon his pointy face.

"You should take your filthy mudblood self and scurry off. Stop bothering him."

The boy startled when Salazar slapped him around the face, forcing the boy's pale head to swing to a side to absorb the blow.

"It seems you didn't learn anything yesterday. The House of Slytherin is suppose to represent cunning and subtly, you are neither. I could challenge you to a duel to the death for that slight upon my Lady's honour. Do not insult Harri again." And with that, Salazar caught her hand, dragging her into the potions classroom and breezing past the startled professor, who'd evidently been coming to see just what the hold up was.

Salazar dropped onto a table near the front, but not before pulling her chair out for her with a flourish, eyes daring any of the Slytherins to say anything about it. The boy, Malfoy, seemed somewhat shell-shocked as his professor bustled him into the room, flicking the door shut as he went. His dark eyes scanned the room, landing upon Harri and his lips twitched, as if wishing to express his displeasure at her, but unwilling to do see in light of the fact he had Salazar's full attention. There'd been a shift in power now, and the snakes were still slithering around, trying to assess who was now king of the rock pit and who was not. Trying to assess the very, very real danger that was now present.

"Settle down. Before we begin today's lesson, I feel it appropriate to remind you will be sitting an important examination in June, which will prove just how much you have learnt. Moronic some of you in this class are, you will scrap an acceptable, or suffer my, displeasure. I hope you have been paying attention these past few years, because you will not be able to pick up enough information within this schooling year to struggle through your examination. Which means some of you," his eyes drifted back to Harri, a malicious gleam there, "will no doubt have inadequate results."

The class held their breath, looking between one another and the professor turned back to the board, unveiling the instructions upon the board.

However, a smooth voice broke the silence that'd formed.

"Are you implying that my teaching skills are less than adequate." It was not a question, instead a lowly toned muse, floating through the dungeon as every head turned to Salazar. He'd picked up on the way the professor had looked at her, the jab that'd been thrown at them both, and Salazar was plainly not pleased.

"Excuse me?"

"You were specifically addressing Harri within the last phrase of your little speech. You are either implying that I am unfit to impart my knowledge upon her, or that she is of low intelligence. Now the former I can forgive, what with my youthful appearance. The latter however. Well, I believe Mr Malfoy will be able to tell you exactly what will happen if you have offended the Lady Potter's honour." Salazar turned his eyes expectingly to the boy he'd previously man handled, and it took a few seconds for everyone to realize Salazar was actually expecting an answer.

"Er, challenge you to a duel to the death, sir?" It was unclear if he were addressing the professor or Salazar himself, and not even Harri was able to tell.

She just sat back, watching as her fabulous friend defended her with the vicious streak of an attacking snake, and with the mercy equivalent to basilisk venom; unforgiving.

Snape sneered, but otherwise dropped the conversation, instead turning to bark orders for everyone to get on with it. And Harri squeezed Salazar's hand in thanks. For she may not be used to this vast amount of people, but Salazar would not allow her to be taken prisoner by them.

That much was clear.

* * *

**Not sure how I feel about this chapter, other than I wanted to get this out of the way. Can't write more, I have to go. And yes, Salazar takes no prisoners.**

**Thank you for reading, review and tell me what you thought? Any questions?**

**Tsume  
xxx**


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